1. Take Activation Cards and Hero Tokens: Each hero player chooses
one Activation card and takes the hero tokens of the corresponding
color.
2. Choose Heroes: All hero players must agree on which player controls
which hero. Each hero player chooses one Hero sheet and takes the
corresponding hero figure. In a two-player game, the lone hero player
controls two different heroes (see “Two-player Game” on page 18).
3. Choose Classes: Each hero player chooses one Class deck matching
his chosen hero’s archetype icon (printed on his Hero sheet; see
“Hero Archetypes” on page 4). Each archetype has different
classes available; there are two such classes available for each archetype
in the game, each one defining which skills are available to a hero of
that class. Any Class deck belonging to a class not chosen is returned
to the game box.
When a player chooses a class for his hero, he takes the deck of cards
for that class (see “Class Card Anatomy” on page 8). This Class
deck includes the starting equipment for the hero, as well as all of
the skills associated with that class. A player may not select a hero
class that does not match the archetype icon shown on the hero’s
Hero sheet. Furthermore, a player may not select a class that has been
chosen by another player.
4. Choose Skills: Every hero begins the game with the basic skill (the
skill card with no experience icon) and starting equipment from his
Class deck.
When playing the basic game, all other skills are returned to the game
box. These skills are only used if playing a campaign or using the Epic
Play variant (see “Campaign Rules” and “Epic Play” on page 19).
5. Place Heroes: Each player places his hero figure on the map in the
area indicated by the quest rules for hero setup. This is typically on an
entrance tile